Paedophile fails to clear name at appeal court

A PAEDOPHILE has failed in his bid to clear his name by having his convictions quashed.

Stephen Casey, aged 46, forced himself on a school girl, molesting her and pushing her into sex during the attacks, which took place when he was in his 30s.

Casey, of Platt Street, Leigh, was jailed for nine years at Liverpool Crown Court in October, 2008, after he was found guilty of five counts of indecent assault and one of rape.

His conviction was challenged at the Appeal Court in London today but it was thrown out by three senior judges who claimed it was not even “arguable” that he did not receive a fair trial.

Mr Justice Hamblen said Casey repeatedly touched his victim in an inappropriate and sexual way before having intercourse with her during the historic offences.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, kept the crimes to herself for years until blurting out the details to her friends. Her friends told her mother.

The police were called and Casey was arrested in April, 2008. He denied any wrongdoing.

But Casey, who had previous convictions for dishonesty and driving offences, theft and for obstructing the police, was disbelieved by a jury and found guilty of the sex offences by majority verdicts.

Applying to appeal, David Emanuel, representing Casey, argued that the trial judge failed to properly direct jurors on the evidence and on his lack of previous convictions for sexual offences, thereby prejudicing his defence.

But Mr Justice Hamblen, sitting with Lord Justice Davis and Judge Martyn Zeidman QC, disagreed, saying: “We are not satisfied that these convictions are arguably unsafe.”

He said that, in any event, the appeal had been submitted five years and four months beyond the usual deadline and an application for an extension of time, without a proper excuse, had to be rebuffed by the court. The renewed application was dismissed.